Christmas and New Year in London 2026–27: dates, lights, markets, transport and tickets

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland 2026: dates, entry tickets and what costs extra

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland runs every day from Thursday 19 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 except Christmas Day, closing at 10pm. It opens at 10am on most days, but at 11am, 12pm or (on Tuesday 1 December) 2pm on many weekdays, so check your date when booking.

Every visitor needs a ticket for a one-hour arrival slot between 10am and 8pm; last entry is 9.30pm and you can stay until closing. Advance prices, which from 2026 include booking fees, apply until 23:59 the day before. On the day it costs more, and popular slots sell out.

• Off-Peak (green): £1, all day Monday to Thursday throughout November 2026, plus some other quieter slots.
• Standard (gold): £5.50, mostly mornings and afternoons. Peak (orange): £8.25, mostly evenings and weekends, when ride queues are longest.
• Free entry: spend £25 on rides, attractions, packages or meal deals in one online order.
• The Ice Rink around the Victorian bandstand costs £12.65–£19.25 for adults and £9.35–£13.75 for children for 45 minutes, skates included. Bags go in a £2 cloakroom and phones are not allowed on the ice.

London Christmas lights 2026: switch-on dates by street

The West End’s Christmas lights are free and mostly switched on in the first half of November; these dates were announced by 21 October 2026. Carnaby, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus and Covent Garden are all within about 1.2 km of each other as the crow flies. No organiser here had published a 2026 switch-off date.

• Carnaby: Wednesday 4 November, with a 1990s theme, according to Londonist.
• Regent Street and St James’s: Thursday 5 November. The ‘Spirit of Christmas’ angels return for a tenth year, and the street closes to traffic from 5pm to 9pm for the switch-on.
• Knightsbridge: Tuesday 10 November; Marylebone Village: Wednesday 11 November, switch-on at 6pm (Londonist).
• Covent Garden: Thursday 12 November. More than 300,000 lights, a British-grown tree on the West Piazza and giant baubles in the Market Building.
• Bond Street: Thursday 12 November, with the street closed to traffic from 4pm to 8pm for a Christmas market evening under its Crown Jewels lights.
• Oxford Street: no 2026 date announced on 21 October. Londonist reports Harry Potter-themed illuminations alongside the usual stars; the 2025 lights were switched on on 3 November.

London Christmas markets 2026: dates and locations

Three Christmas markets are worth planning around, and only Winter Wonderland’s needs a ticket.

• Southbank Centre Winter Market: Monday 2 November 2026 – Sunday 3 January 2027 on Queen’s Walk under Hungerford Bridge: alpine-style chalets, street food and bars. The Southbank Centre says it does not take cash. Nearest stations: Waterloo and Embankment.
• Leicester Square: market stalls around Skate Leicester Square, daily from Saturday 31 October 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 except Christmas Day, a minute’s walk from Leicester Square station.
• Hyde Park Winter Wonderland: for the markets, the organisers suggest the Green Gate, next to the Bavarian Village and Market Square (nearest stations Knightsbridge and High Street Kensington).

Ice skating in London 2026: rinks, dates and prices

London has four main seasonal rinks in 2026; the Natural History Museum rink is not one of them. The museum says its ice rink has closed for good and the gardens where it stood are now a wildlife garden, so ignore older lists that still recommend it.

• Skate at Somerset House: Wednesday 11 November 2026 – Sunday 10 January 2027, beneath a 40ft tree in the 18th-century courtyard. Adults £13–£28.50, children £11–£15, plus £1.50 per ticket; watching is free. Skate Lates with DJs run until 11pm on Wednesdays to Fridays.
• Hyde Park Winter Wonderland: the UK’s largest open-air rink, 45-minute sessions from 10am to 9pm; you need an event entry ticket as well.
• Skate Leicester Square: 31 October 2026 – 3 January 2027, closed 25 December; 10am–6pm on 24 December, 12pm–10pm on 26 December and 1 January. Under-3s cannot skate.
• Hampton Court Palace Ice Rink: Friday 20 November 2026 – Sunday 3 January 2027. Adults £19.50 off-peak and £21.50 peak, children aged 3–12 £14.50 and £16; weekdays before 3pm are quietest.

Christmas at Kew 2026: London’s illuminated garden trail

Christmas at Kew is a three-kilometre after-dark light trail through Kew Gardens on selected dates from Friday 13 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, open 4.20pm to 10pm and bookable in advance only. Highlights include the Christmas Cathedral of lit arches, the Fire Garden, the Temperate House light show and a finale on the Palm House Pond.

Adults pay £29.50 off-peak and £37 peak, a family of four £89 or £108. Last entry is between 7pm and 8pm depending on the gate. Adults-only evenings (18+) are new on Thursday 3 and Wednesday 9 December. The trail is closed on Friday 25 December.

Hogwarts in the Snow 2026 at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

Hogwarts in the Snow runs from Saturday 14 November 2026 to Sunday 17 January 2027 and is included in the normal Studio Tour ticket, which must be booked in advance. The Great Hall has Christmas trees and a festive feast, the common rooms carry garlands, and the Hogwarts castle model is covered in film snow; new for 2026 is a Foley demonstration of festive sound effects on the Backlot Stage.

London carol services 2026: St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey

St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey welcome everyone to services free of charge, but their most popular carol services need a free ticket allocated in advance. At St Paul’s Cathedral tickets are needed only for Family Carols and the two 4pm carol services, through a free ballot the cathedral said would open in November 2026; unclaimed tickets are then released to the public. Westminster Abbey scheduled the release of tickets for its Lessons and Carols services for Monday 16 and Wednesday 18 November 2026, at 9:30am and 2:30pm.

• St Paul’s, free with no ticket: Advent Carol Service, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, 5pm; Britten’s Ceremony of Carols, Saturday 12 December, 5pm; Blessing of the Crib, Sunday 20 December, 3pm.
• St Paul’s, ballot ticket: Family Carols, Saturday 19 December, 11am; Christmas Carol Service, Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 December, 4pm.
• St Paul’s on Christmas Eve and Day, no ticket: Midnight Eucharist, Thursday 24 December, 11pm; Choral Eucharist at 11am and Festal Evensong at 3pm on Friday 25 December.
• St Paul’s paid concerts: Handel’s Messiah, Wednesday 2 December, and A Celebration of Christmas, Thursday 10 December, both 6:30pm.
• Doors open an hour before; seats cannot be saved, there is no cloakroom and bags must be no larger than 450 × 300 × 250 mm.

Pantomime in London 2026: Cinderella at the London Palladium

The West End’s big pantomime is Cinderella at the London Palladium, from Saturday 5 December 2026 to Sunday 10 January 2027, with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as the Ugly Sisters and Julian Clary as the Fairy Godfather. Tickets start at £25 with no booking fees; the venue does not admit children under 4.